(A/N): We've got a much shorter chapter this time around, though it's still packed with plenty of action, character moments, and mystery! This is loosely based on the BIONICLE comic The Bohrok Awaken, though obviously there's a lot more going on here than there was there. I really wanted to sell the idea of the Bohrok being this bizarre, Xenomorph-esque foe unlike anything the Toa or Huntresses have faced before, and I hope I succeeded on that front. I made a few changes to make them a little more horrifying, but the core of what they were in canon is still there.
In any case, enjoy! Oh, and maybe have some bug spray on hand - I have no idea if it works on Bohrok, but better safe than sorry right?
Tahu could scarcely believe his eyes.
His village of Ta-Koro, which had long stood and endured much like his fire-hearted people, was crumbling to pieces around the very Matoran who'd built it. Dozens of armored, squat insects with curved glassy heads scuttled between fortress walls, tearing through everything in their path as they swarmed the shattered defenses. Some of the invaders had silver-white armor and what looked like spinning saw blades affixed to twisted little arms, which had enough reach and sharpness to tear through hardened volcanic stone. Others had shells that gleamed like bronze ingots in the fire, with pulsating three-pronged wedges as their tools of choice. Both variants were relentless in their destruction, and neither were slowed by anything the Guardsmen were doing to stop them.
And through it all, a dreadful clicking sound filled the air like the drums of war.
CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT…
It was madness, and he and his Toa were right in the middle of it.
He snarled and unleashed blasts of fire from his palms as he hovered above the battlefield, keeping back some of the bronze beasts and clearing space in the cluttered courtyard below. That allowed Kopaka and Gali to zip past him in blue and silver blurs, dashing into crumbling huts and emerging with fearful Matoran in their arms. One glance to the left revealed that Pohatu and Onua were doing the same atop Ta-Koro's once-imposing walls; looking right gave him a clear view of Lewa and Penny attacking the horde from mid-air, though the insects hardly flinched even against their elemental onslaughts.
What manner of beasts are these…Bohrok? Tahu's mind raced furiously while gliding and fighting. They do not look like any Rahi we faced during Makuta's reign, nor do they bear Infected Kanohi to carry out his dark will. Where did they come from? And why attack now?
His thoughts were interrupted by a handful of Bohrok growing bold enough to leap into the air and meet him in combat, snapping their heads forward with surprising force. Tahu grunted and twirled to avoid their lunging jaw strikes, mentally switching mask powers to counter the aerial attacks. The Miru's levitation faded in exchange for the extra strength of the Pakari; this, in turn, made kicking and swatting away the overgrown insects far easier as pure might flowed through his muscles and servos.
But to his dismay, when the Bohrok crashed against walls and stone paths, they simply shook their heads and got right back up again.
Tough little pests… he thought with a mental scowl as he triggered the Mask of Levitation and resumed flying. If might alone will not stop them…then perhaps I should turn up the heat!
With a plan in mind Tahu soared over the courtyard and picked out a silver-armored target, turning the gouts of fire in his palms into a scorching lance of flames. The attack struck one Bohrok in the back of its head, but the heat and force of his blow merely rippled across some kind of barrier. With a click and a hiss the Bohrok spun to face him and raised its arms; the Toa of Fire prepared to launch another blast of his elemental power -
CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT!
Only to suddenly feel very cold.
A sharp cry escaped his throat as he felt ice form across his armor, weighing him down and freezing over his legs and hands. With no conduits to channel fire, he stopped flying - and worse, started falling. His opponent let out another series of sharp chirps, and soon more of its kind rolled over and started spinning their bladed shields once they unfolded. A droning whir filled the air as the Toa of Fire plummeted downwards while flailing his arms wildly. He couldn't keep himself aloft with just his mask power…and that was a fact that the Bohrok waiting below were counting on.
But none of that was a concern for Tahu at the moment, for his mind was still reeling at why frost had suddenly extinguished his jets.
Fortunately for him, he'd have a chance to find out.
A rushing silver-white figure raced over the crowd, and snatched him out of the air before the Bohrok could "catch" him. Tahu let out a sigh of relief as Kopaka skidded to a halt and set him down, then broke the ice around his limbs with one swing of a notched sword. The Bohrok, clearly upset at losing the chance to tear a Toa to pieces, started marching towards the pair while narrowing their dagger-like eyes. With the back wall of Ta-Koro cutting off their escape, the Toa had little choice but to raise their own armaments; Kopaka held out his shield and took a defensive stance, while Tahu's own sword came alive in a rush of flame as he drew it with both hands.
"Be wary, Kopaka," he intoned with fire in his eyes. "It seems these Bohrok have elemental powers of their own."
"I noticed." The Toa of Ice gave a stiff nod. "Being frozen is a bad look for you, by the way - the cold suits me better."
Despite the danger, Tahu gave a small smile to his frosty friend, which was returned in equal measure. Then the two lunged at the Bohrok together, swinging swords of ice and fire to protect the Matoran to the best of their abilities.
But would even that be enough?
Onua raised his claws to block another chunk of flying rubble, then pivoted to slash apart a volley of dagger-like icicles flung with deadly precision. By his command, pillars of crimson clay formed underneath the silver-shelled Bohrok, launching them into the air and bringing them crashing down onto their bronze counterparts behind him. A quick glance at his surroundings told him that the walls of Ta-Koro were unmanned once more - Pohatu had seen to that, darting around with his Mask of Speed to scoop up any Matoran still paralyzed by fear and deposit them to a safe haven.
For what little meaning that term still had, at least.
His brother appeared next to him in a bronze blur, skidding to a stop and narrowing his gaze at the Bohrok rolling to replace the damaged ones. Both Toa widened their stances and raised their fists for combat, only to watch as the insects turned their focus onto the wall instead. Spinning shields cleaved through volcanic clay. Seismic hammers punched through layers of brick and mortar. As they moved to tear down the structure, they were flanked by odd little creatures carrying chisels and icepicks - ones with flat circular heads that matched the hand-shields and armor colors of their larger counterparts.
"This makes no sense," rumbled the Toa of Earth. "These creatures target not the Matoran, but the works and structures they have built. They even ignore us unless we stand directly in their way, or move to strike them first. So why all the chaos? What could they hope to gain from this?"
"An excellent question, brother," said Pohatu with a scowl. "I'm sure we can ask after we've kicked them out of the village. Let's start with the smaller ones - maybe they'll fly farther!"
The Toa of Stone took off with a running start, rearing his foot back to punt one of the Matoran-sized, bipedal figures. But before he could make contact, the smaller creature turned and let out a shrill screech that made both Onua and Pohatu clutch their heads in pain. Too late, it became apparent that the shout was meant for more than just inducing headaches - a dozen of the tiny bronze bipeds suddenly locked dagger-like gazes on a dazed and disoriented Pohatu, before leaping en masse to drive their chisels and claws into his armor.
"Augh! What is this?!" Pohatu flailed and tried to shake loose the creatures hanging on his frame, to no avail. "Even the small ones can fight?! Ugh…they're worse than stone rats! I can't get them off!"
Blinking and slapping his head to clear it, Onua regained his focus and raised his claws. "Hold on, brother! I shall pry them loose, and…"
His words trailed off as he noticed a dozen bronze Bohrok roll into formation below them, clanging their shields together and releasing a volley of seismic waves. The air began to shake and shudder, Onua felt his mechanical joints vibrate within his arms and legs, and even the volcanic bricks underfoot started to tremble and crack apart with terrible noises. Whatever these Bohrok were doing, it was causing the hardest stone on the island to wither away into dust - while the Toa were still standing right on top of it.
"Pohatu!" he shouted in alarm. "Their powers are causing the wall to collapse! We need to move!"
Despite still being weighed down by a dozen smaller bipeds, Pohatu leapt and pitched himself over their section of the wall just as it started to collapse. Onua jumped and did the same, catching his fellow Toa in his claws while triggering the Mask of Levitation. Their descent wasn't the smoothest and their landing wasn't the softest, but it was better than hitting the village square in an uncontrolled freefall - and it was certainly better than still being on the bulwark itself, which came tumbling down in an avalanche of stone, mortar, and rubble seconds later.
"Thank you, friend," groaned Pohatu as he struggled to right himself, punting away the clingy creatures who'd been knocked senseless by the flight. "I can always count on you to pull me out of the fire."
Onua nodded back as he yanked a particularly stubborn biped off his friend's back. "Likewise, brother…though it seems we have leapt from one furnace, only to land in another."
Sure enough a dozen more Bohrok, these ones clad in white with whirling buzzsaws for hands, suddenly popped out of the ground and encircled the two Toa. Onua and Pohatu pressed their backs against one another, raising their fists and claws and preparing to engage the encroaching bugs. Despite the orange and green glows in their hands as the Toa summoned their elemental powers, the Bohrok swarm's only response was to take menacing steps forward while rhythmically waving their heads back and forth, preparing to lash out with their natural weapons as their chittering continued unceasingly.
CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT…
A new sound interrupted their battle cry, one that made both Onua and Pohatu grin beneath their masks.
The humming of a portal forming not too far away.
Stepping into Ta-Koro felt like opening up the world's biggest, hottest oven.
Weiss grit her teeth as she immediately felt assaulted by the wave of heat, beads of sweat already forming on her forehead moments after crossing over to a familiar world. While her Aura did its best to cool her off in the face of the volcanic air, it didn't make her feel any better - if anything, the ambient temperature here made the desert heat of Vacuo feel like a mild spring day in Vale. But of course, comfort was the furthest thing from her mind as she scanned the area alongside her friends, grimly looking over the section of wall they'd dropped onto as the portal snapped shut behind them.
She saw…robot bugs.
Lots and lots of robot bugs.
Of course, she didn't just see bugs in the chaos below. The Toa were already fighting desperately against this unknown threat, scattered across the courtyard and struggling to stand their ground. Several terrified Matoran groups were huddled in what few walls and huts remained intact, while the rest of them were hunkering down further in with spears and shields as one final emergency defense. Finally, she saw Penny flying overhead while waving to her friends, clearly wanting to swoop down and give them all the biggest hugs possible…before an icy explosion drew her attention elsewhere, forcing her to rush off to deal with the newest emergency.
"So these must be Bohrok," mused Ren, clearly referring to the white-and-brown swarms rolling around and causing mayhem.
"Must be," said Ruby with a tight nod. "Yeah…I can see why Penny wanted us here as quickly as possible."
A wail escaped Weiss's lips. "Ugh. Why did they have to be bugs, of all things?"
At least they're not spiders, signed Neopolitan, though even she didn't look very encouraged.
"I think they're kinda cute!" chirped Nora with a grin as she pointed. "Look at that one, he's tucking himself into a little ball! I'm sorta conflicted about bashing them, actually…"
A quick glance at the Bohrok she singled out revealed that it was indeed securing its curved limbs against its shell and rolling forward…only to barrel through three clay huts in a single charge and send the Matoran within running and screaming.
"…okaaaaay, that is…less cute." Nora sucked in air through her teeth. "Good news, everyone - I am no longer conflicted!"
That didn't take long. Neo's smirk was almost infectious.
"If these are what's got Penny all worked up, then we'll deal with them." Qrow unslung Harbinger and loaded fresh Dust slugs into both barrels. "What's the play, kiddo? Who's good, who's bad, and what do we need to do?"
Ruby's commands were quick and clear and decisive. "The tall guys with the gold masks are the Toa - they're the ones who helped us last time we were here. Their main priority would be to secure the Matoran first - the little guys with masks like theirs - then try to stop the Bohrok. So we should be doing the same!"
I see Pohatu and Onua surrounded over in that corner, signed Neopolitan with a determined glint in her eyes. I will go and help them out.
"Understood," said Ruby with a nod. "Do you need a lift?"
The former assassin shook her head and held up her Scroll, making a show of pulling down on the main screen with a satisfied smile. Doing so revealed a radial menu consisting of six colored wedges, each one bearing a strange yet familiar shape in the middle. Weiss retrieved her own personal device and mirrored the gesture, relieved to see that the collected Kanohi were not only accessible, they were on full display - and tapping a diamond-shaped icon filled her muscles with incredible strength, while pressing the helmet hardened her Aura into a solid white sphere around her.
"Looks like our mask powers are back, now that we're on Mata Nui again." Weiss smiled. "That should come in handy."
Ruby looked glumly at her own Scroll for a moment, frowning as she pulled down only for nothing to happen. "Yeah…looks like it's back for you guys…"
Guilt shot through the heiress's heart as she remembered that her partner had left her old Scroll behind, along with the app that let her channel Gali's collected Kanohi. Did it not come back for her, like ours did?
"It's alright - I can manage for now." She collapsed the hard-light rectangle and unlimbered Crescent Rose. "In that case, you two head over to help out Pohatu and Onua. The rest of us'll spread out to cover as much ground as we can, and work our way towards the other Toa. Doctor, can you hang back for now?"
Pietro Polendina nodded tightly. "I know how to keep myself safe, Miss Rose."
"Perfect. Then I'm gonna find Tahu - he's their leader and their best warrior, so if anyone has a plan to stop these things it'd be him. Qrow and Ren, I need you to maneuver around the swarms and secure any Matoran that are still trapped. When you find them, take them over to Jaller - he's the guy at the head of the big defense formation over there, the one in the yellow mask. And Nora?"
The thunderous teenager looked at her friend expectantly, who grinned right back.
"Smash."
A wicked smile spread across Nora's face as she saluted before leaping over the ledge, whipping around Magnhild as she fell and slamming the mighty warhammer into the courtyard floor. The resulting explosion of pink smoke drew the ire of the Bohrok, who immediately started rolling into the cloud to engage the newcomer - only to be launched back out like colorful clay balls rocketing across a pool table. Nora cackled as she leapt forward and started swinging, flexing her scarred muscles and whipping her cloak around with each powerful motion.
"Hellooooooo, Mata Nui!" She raised her weapon high above her head. "Your new queen has arrived! Please hold your applause and accolades - your admiration is more than enough!"
Rolling her eyes at Nora's theatrics, Weiss nonetheless kissed Ruby for luck, tapped the Mask of Speed on her Scroll, and took off in a white blur towards the trapped Toa of Earth and Stone.
Regardless of the emergency…part of her was glad to be back on Mata Nui.
Pohatu's smile only brightened when he saw several familiar faces among the Huntresses, two of which were heading right for him and his brother. The Bohrok surrounding them had turned to look at the new arrivals for just a moment - and that was all the time he and Onua needed to start turning the tables.
With a wordless nod Onua slammed the ground with both mighty claws, sending out a shockwave that knocked the silvery insects off-balance. Pohatu followed up with a stomp that summoned fists of stone underneath the stunned Bohrok, all of which launched the creatures into the air with powerful uppercuts. Before they could even hit the ground again, Weiss and Neopolitan sprung into action; the Huntresses leapt and danced between armored targets while still channeling their Masks of Speed, thrusting with narrow swords in one hand and flinging protosteel disks with the other. By the time the humans slid to a stop alongside the brothers of earth and stone, the icy Bohrok finally touched down with far fewer limbs and intact shells - and a volley of fiery bolts from Weiss's glyphs and a rain of glass swords summoned by Neo ensured that they wouldn't get back up anytime soon.
"Nice to see that you haven't lost a step, Pebble," said the Toa of Stone, laughing as Neo practically leapt into his waiting arms. "Not nearly as nice as seeing you at all, of course."
The silent Huntress giggled soundlessly and nuzzled her face against his golden mask, her smile saying plenty for the both of them.
While the pair spun around, the Toa of Earth gave a smile of his own as he bowed to the other human. "Hello again, Weiss. A pleasure to see you and your friends once more."
"Pleasure's all mine," replied the Huntress with a small curtsey. "Blake sends her regards, by the way - she and Yang had to stay behind on Remnant to deal with things there, so we had to bring some other people along this time. Hope that's not a problem?"
"Any friends of yours are friends of ours," said Pohatu cheerfully as he lowered Neopolitan.
"Agreed," rumbled Onua. "The aid of any Hunters is greatly appreciated…especially against a menace such as this."
Weiss nodded as more Bohrok rolled over to surround the warriors, raising her sword even as the bugs raised their shields. "Speaking of which…Pohatu, I seem to remember that you wanted to use the giant sword I summoned for Kopaka, during our final battle with Makuta. Is that still something you're up for?"
The Toa of Stone grinned as he widened his stance. "It would be my honor, Weiss Schnee. I shall be your stalwart knight!"
Neo hopped out of his arms and snapped to get Onua's attention. Let's give them some cover while she summons, she signed quickly.
"A sound idea," rumbled the Toa of Earth. "Together, then!"
And with another tremor and a summoned glyph, Toa and Huntress alike leapt into the fray together once more.
Lie Ren darted around the swarms of Bohrok with well-honed grace and agility, sticking to the shadows and staying away from prying eyes. His clothes - a baggy set of jade-green robes with matching pants, a strip of red cloth to secure his long jet-black hair, and a pair of sandals well-suited for silent movement - billowed around his lean muscular frame with each muted step he took and every skillful leap he made. Every now and then he would take aim with both copies of StormFlower, though it was never to fire the dual pistols; instead, he would launch the daggers on the front and use the built-in cables to zip and grapple across the battlefield, quickly pulling himself to crumbling alcoves and trapped, terrified Matoran.
It wasn't much, but it was all he could do.
As he performed one silent rescue after another, he stole glances at the rest of the battlefield and picked out his friends. Ruby ripped through the crowds of Bohrok like a scarlet tornado, while Weiss flowed like water between insectoid opponents. Neopolitan goaded the creatures into attacking lifelike illusions, which shattered like panes of glass as she went in for the finishing blow. Qrow moved deftly and decisively, shifting between man and bird and back again as he attacked from the shadows and rescued isolated Matoran. And Nora struck with the full might of a thunderstorm, smashing one bug-like monster after another with a grin that never faltered.
Yet no matter how much damage the Bohrok were taking, they almost never slowed down.
These creatures are far tougher than they look, he noted with a tight frown. If they were Grimm, they'd be nothing but smoke by now.
Then again…if they were Grimm, his Semblance would actually be useful here.
He shook his head to clear the negative thought that rose, unbidden, into his mind. No sense focusing on that kind of thing; Ren just needed to concentrate on what he had to do. What he could do. Firing his grapple lines again, he pulled himself over to the corner of a ruined hut and touched down lightly, approaching a pair of red-armored Matoran who held tightly to each other in fear.
"Don't worry," he said in the calmest voice he could manage. "I'm here to help. You're safe now."
CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT…
The sound of several Bohrok approaching from behind proved him wrong.
Instinct took over for Ren as he put his palm against the floor and pulsed his Semblance, focusing on maintaining a neutral, emotionless mask that encompassed himself and his surroundings. Part of his mind knew it was a dumb move - unlike the Grimm, which were drawn to negative emotions, these Bohrok didn't seem motivated by anything other than some single-minded drive to destroy. But muscle memory was a hard thing to fight, even for a Huntsman…especially for a Huntsman who'd done almost nothing but learn to channel his Semblance, almost reflexively, after spending months in a city full of fear.
Still, he reasoned after the fact as Aura flowed over him and his passengers, at least it would calm down the panicking little Matoran long enough for him to scoop them up and run away. The Bohrok would still see them, but he could deal with that. He wasn't expecting that he and the two villagers would actually turn invisible.
And yet…that was exactly what happened.
Ren blinked slowly as he watched the group of Bohrok look around, click twice, then roll away without ever giving a sign that they'd seen anything unusual. At first he began to wonder if they really did "see" by sensing emotions, but a quick look at his hand - or rather, the cloudy outline of his hand - said otherwise. He looked over to where the two Matoran were huddled together, only to see more phantom shapes in their place. A quick step out of the ruined hut made them reappear outside the radius of his channeled field, and stepping back inside turned them invisible once again.
That's…new… he mused as he quietly hummed to himself. My Semblance has never done that before - certainly not this morning. Did it change when I came to this world, due to the lack of Grimm here? Or is this another evolution, so soon after the last one?
It was a mystery he decided to solve later, because he used his newfound invisibility to take the two Matoran into his arms and sneak his way to the growing shelter. Another bitter thought rose to his mind, though at least this one had some note of positivity and hope in its depths - a rare treasure indeed these days.
Maybe I won't be dead weight here, after all.
Pietro was content to stay on the sidelines for all of twenty-seven seconds before the urge to find his daughter consumed him.
Carefully piloting his robochair over carpets of rubble and rocks, he peered through tiny little glasses and searched the wreckage for signs of Penny. While the multi-jointed legs of his chair were precise and nimble and well-suited for cluttered terrain, he wasn't taking any chances - taking a tumble here would be disastrous, especially with nobody else around to help his ailing body back up. This part of the village, at least, seemed like it'd been left behind by the so-called Bohrok…still, he never let his guard down. He was painfully aware of how danger could strike at any time.
After a few minutes of searching, he didn't find Penny - but he did find a Matoran in a black mask, huddling behind a cracked wall in shock and struggling to breathe.
"No…" wheezed the little robotic denizen. "No…no no no…this isn't happening…this can't be happening…"
"Hey…it's okay, little one." Pietro lowered his chair and held out a hand, hoping to pierce whatever veil of panic had consumed the villager. "My name is Doctor Polendina, and I'm here to help. What's your name?"
The Matoran finally looked up from the ball they'd curled up into. "K…Kalama…gah. My name's Kalama." Their slightly-metallic feminine voice warbled in fear. "Are you…are you a human, like Penny? Like the Huntresses?"
"That I am," he said with a warm and proud smile. "In fact, Penny's my daughter. I'm her…well, she calls me 'Papa.' Does that sound familiar to you?"
"Ah…yes…" Kalama's glowing yellow eyes flickered slightly. "She talks about you all the time."
"No surprise there." He chuckled softly, then looked down at what she was holding onto. "Those Bohrok look like they've moved on from this wing of the village, and Jaller's barricade isn't too far away. Why are you still over here? Is something else the matter?"
"It's…it's my leg…" Kalama clutched a twisted triangle of black metal and whimpered slightly. "I think it broke when some of those…those things tore through the front gate." She hung her head. "Oh, Mata Nui…why is this happening? Is this the price we must pay, for being so complacent after Makuta's defeat?…"
Pietro frowned. "I don't think I can answer that, but I might be able to help with your leg. May I take a look?"
His little friend looked between Pietro, then her mangled leg, then finally nodded and leaned back with a pained hiss. The Atlesian scientist tapped a few buttons on the Scroll built into his robochair, unfolding and controlling a multi-jointed aperture with a variety of built-in tools. Guiding the extended arm like an expert crane operator, he selected the camera array and pointed it at the Matoran's fractured limb. One click and a flash later, an X-ray image appeared in a holographic display before him - a three-dimensional wireframe model that he could manipulate with his own two hands.
"Hmm…" he hummed pensively while toying with the model. "Looks like you've got some stress and impact fractures along your upper leg. Nothing serious, thankfully - a few spot welds in the metal plating should fix it right up. Will that be alright, Kalama? It's going to get a little hot, I'll warn you right now."
Kalama laughed bitterly as she nodded. "I'm from Ta-Koro, Doctor. If there's one thing I can handle, it's heat."
Trusting that his patient knew her own biology better than he did, he went to work. The front of his aperture swiveled and spun to reveal a large soldering iron, complete with preheated filament ready to be applied like a hot glue gun. After a few careful pokes and showers of sparks, the triangular black leg was looking far stronger; when Kalama carefully stood up to test it, she found she was able to walk once more with nothing more than a small limp.
"There, how's that?" Pietro smiled as he withdrew the robochair's crane-like appendage, wiping refuse off the soldering iron's tip with an oily rag. "Feeling better now?"
"Much better," said Kalama, her eyes brightening in every sense of the word. "Thank you, Doctor."
"That's why I'm here," chortled Pietro. "I'd offer you a lollipop for being a good patient, but I don't think you'd be able to eat it."
Kalama laughed softly, then jumped in alarm. "Doctor! Behind you!"
CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT!
Pietro frowned once more as he swung his chair around, revealing the sight of several bronze Bohrok taking menacing steps towards him. Their shield-shaped hands were pulsing with destructive energy, their glassy curved heads were bobbing back and forth on twin neck joints, and their dagger-like emerald eyes glowed with zero emotion and a singular purpose. Whatever their target was, the Atlesian doctor and machinist was in the way - and that meant he, too, was something that needed to be destroyed.
Which was obviously something he was hoping to avoid.
"Come on, boys," he said in as honeyed a voice as he could muster. "You're not really the type to pick on a poor, defenseless old man, are you?"
CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT…
"Suppose there's my answer." Pietro sighed. "Well, in that case…"
He tapped a few more buttons on his chair-mounted Scroll, then slid his finger across a safety lock. The sides of the robochair opened up like the drawers of a cabinet, allowing a pair of multi-barreled cannons with glowing tips to pop out and spool up in loud hums. A pair of handles sprung from the armrests and pressed comfortably into his palms, the buttons within the grooves perfectly lining up with his wrinkled fingertips.
"…it's a good thing I'm not defenseless anymore," he said as he squeezed the firing studs.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRT.
Pietro felt his teeth chatter as the point defense guns came alive in deafening roars, spinning and firing hundreds of hard-light slugs in the space of a few seconds. The concentrated barrage of bullets ripped through everything in its path - including the Bohrok, who were torn to scrap metal under the relentless assault. Once he'd confirmed that his targets were reduced to bits and pieces, he released his grip and let out his breath. There was little sense in wasting precious ammo…even if Dust was more effective in smaller quantities here than on Remnant, it'd still be wise to save it for emergencies.
Kalama gasped and blinked behind her mask. "Mata Nui…that was incredible." Then she looked up at Pietro and grinned. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to donate some of those to the Ta-Koro Guard? Jaller would love to get his hands on a weapon like that."
"I'll see what I can do," said the good doctor with a soft laugh. "In any case, we'd best get moving before more Bohrok show up…or before any other surprises come and find us."
"Papa!"
That was all the warning he got before something warm and airborne crashed into his lap, wrapping a pair of bare arms around his shoulders and giggling uncontrollably. A hearty, cough-laden laugh escaped his throat as he returned the high-velocity hug, squeezing his daughter tightly and tearfully. For a moment the chaos around them seemed to fade; it was as if the universe itself paused to give the two Polendinas a peaceful reunion after so many months apart. Kalama watched the pair for a while, then limped off towards Jaller's makeshift formation for safety - and to give the humans some much-needed privacy.
"Penny…" he choked with a joyful sob. "Oh, Penny…my dear, sweet little Penny…I've missed you so much."
"I have missed you too, Papa!" The freckled girl giggled once more, drawing back to look at her father while still keeping her arms looped around his neck. "I cannot believe you came all the way here to Mata Nui…it is so good to see you! And to hold you!"
"Likewise, Darling." Pietro reached up and cupped his little girl's cheek with an old, well-worn palm. "I wouldn't miss a chance like this for the world. For either world."
Penny leaned into his hand for a moment with a soft, contented sigh. It was a gesture he'd done many times when she was a gynoid, but this was clearly her first time being able to truly feel it on her skin - and considering how she nuzzled her cheek against his palm and gently clasped his wrist, it was plain for Pietro to see that she absolutely relished it. A mournful expression flickered across her face for a moment as she slowly lowered her father's arm…and then her eyes brightened alongside her smile as she noticed the new armaments on his robochair.
"Oh wow!" she cooed excitedly. "You added Swordfish-grade point defense guns to the Arpeggio! When did you install those? How did you mitigate the recoil? And where are you keeping the ammo drums?"
Pietro had to laugh at his daughter's curiosity taking over. "Well, after Amity touched down we needed some kind of weapon against any Grimm that wandered too close. We found some of those old gunships in the hangar - the ones that got decommissioned when the Manta phased the design out - so Maria and I decided to jury-rig their cannons to my look out!"
Clearly the universe couldn't keep the pause button pressed forever, because another half-dozen Bohrok came rolling over in attack formation. But Penny just hopped off his lap and swung her arms outwards, stopping them all in their tracks with a wide net of glowing green wires. With little more than a flick of her wrist each insectoid creature was systematically disassembled, reduced to individual servos and linkages and joints and plates by the technopathic teenager.
"My word," he breathed, instinctively reaching up to make sure he still had eyebrows after such a display of power. He knew about his daughter's Semblance, of course - it used to be his, after all, back when he had a complete Aura - but it was still impressive just how quickly she'd come to master it and make it truly hers.
Penny giggled once more as she turned to face him with a sheepish smile. "Um…perhaps we should catch up after we deal with the Bohrok," she panted.
"Sounds like a plan to me, Penny," said Pietro with a shaky laugh. "If you see any other Matoran who need repair work, wave me over. I'll patch them up and get them to safety…just promise me you'll be careful, Darling."
Her smile only brightened as she saluted. "Will do, Papa! I love you!"
As Maiden magic burned at her bare soles to give her flight, as glass blades formed into wings behind her, Pietro finally said something he wished he'd been able to say months ago when his whole world was falling away.
"…I love you too, Penny."
Ruby never thought she'd admit it, but she almost missed facing the Rahi.
As she fought back-to-back with both Tahu and Kopaka, her silver eyes narrowed with growing annoyance and frustration. While the cutting edges of both Crescent Rose and Naho-Gahi proved effective at piercing Bohrok armor, it hardly slowed them down or stopped them from swarming her. Every part of the thick-shelled bugs seemed to be a weapon or a tool for destruction, and they had no issue turning all of them against her and the other Toa. Their multi-jointed necks snapped forward with surprising force, delivering powerful headbutts with their glassy faceplates. Each Bohrok carried a pair of hand-sized shields on limber little arms, which either contained whirling serrated saw blades or shockwave generators that made her teeth tingle. Even the sphere-like travel forms they tucked themselves into doubled as wrecking balls, and it was all Ruby could do but dive out of the way whenever they rolled to try and flatten her.
Worse still, the Bohrok displayed other abilities that were pulled out when least expected, all seemingly at random. Sometimes they'd form barriers of energy to block attacks, like a Toa using the Mask of Shielding. Other times the force of their blows was stronger than usual. Still other times they'd burrow into the ground and reappear behind her, aiming for a mid-air sneak attack. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to why some Bohrok could do these things while others couldn't - if there was a pattern, Ruby wasn't seeing it in the heat of battle.
"Gah, there's no end to them!" wailed Ruby as she lopped off the arms of what felt like her twentieth Bohrok, kicking it back before it could headbutt her. "These things are tougher than they look, and even if you take them down they just get back up again and keep coming!"
"Their true strength comes from their numbers," growled Tahu as he launched a silver insect back with a strong burst of flame. "If only there were a way to deny them that advantage…"
Kopaka plunged his sword into the torso of a bronze Bohrok, then flung it away with the Mask of Strength. "Don't suppose you've learned any new tricks since we saw you last? Particularly any big crowd-clearing attacks?"
The little rose hummed thoughtfully, then nodded and raised her voice. "Weiss, Nora! Find the biggest group and scatter 'em! Cold Shock!"
"On it, Ruby!"
"Here we go! Juice me up, snowflake!"
She watched as Weiss methodically picked out a group of insectoid enemies, before deftly launching herself over the battlefield and perching on a summoned platform. Nora sprouted a grin as she cleared a path towards the heiress, which only widened when a yellow glyph spun into existence in mid-air just for her. Electric bolts arced and surged along its edges as the hammer-wielding woman leapt into it, streaks of pink light shining through the patterned scars trailing across her exposed skin.
While Ruby still felt a pang of guilt at seeing the newest side effect of Nora's Semblance in action, the thunderous teenager seemed to take it in stride. A mad cackle rang out as she slammed the business end of Magnhild against the ground, the impact creating a shockwave of static that raced across the crowded plaza. Any Bohrok unfortunate enough to be in the way went flying in a chorus of piercing shrieks, sparks of electricity arcing across their frames as they came in for painful landings.
"Ahahaha!" Nora pumped her fist as the surge of energy faded and her scars stopped glowing. "I never get tired of doing that!"
Ruby smiled back at her friend and waved, then blew a kiss at the distant Weiss. Nora raced back off with another cackle, prompting her unlikely teammate to groan and rush to keep up. The little rose watched them run to join Gali's side and assist her with the swarms of scuttling bugs, launching salvos of glyph attacks and grenades to keep them back alongside blasts of water. A quick glance around revealed that Lewa was fighting alongside Neopolitan and Pohatu on the other side of the village, while Onua stood between Qrow and Ren to keep the rescued Matoran safe.
And between it all, the Bohrok just kept coming.
"Interesting…" mused Kopaka amidst a series of whirring clicks, the lenses of his visor focusing on the scattered insects. "That blast of lightning from your friend overloaded both kinds of Bohrok, whether they wielded stone or ice. And even though they've shaken off most of what we've done to them so far, these ones aren't getting back up."
Ruby gasped as the pieces clicked in her mind. "Of course! Everything on this island's biomechanical in some way - if these things are more machine than muscle, then a big electric surge will shut 'em down and knock 'em out! It's like burning out a circuit board by cranking up the current!"
"…I don't know what any of that means," admitted the Toa of Ice. "But yes. Electricity seems to work best against these Bohrok."
"Then let us end this battle!" Tahu raised his voice so that his commands could be heard across all of Ta-Koro. "Lewa, Gali! Combine your powers to summon a thunderstorm! The rest of us will keep the Bohrok back for as long as we can! Strike now, for all of Mata Nui!"
A chorus of affirming shouts rang out amidst the chaos. Ruby watched as a familiar blue-armored Toa raised her hooks and channeled her element, while a green-clad warrior aimed his axe upwards to call upon his own mastery of the world around him. Soon the sky began to grow darker as wind and water swirled together overhead, the air began to feel heavy with rain straining to fall, and the once-overwhelming heat of Ta-Koro faltered before the cold fury of a brewing storm.
Looks like we weren't the only ones figuring out new team attacks, thought the silver-eyed Huntress with a proud smile.
The Bohrok seemed to sense what they were trying, and redoubled their attack - this time targeting the focused Toa, instead of the village. While blades, bullets, elemental blasts, and protosteel disks kept them at bay, it never stalled them for long. Whenever one insectoid creature fell, two more seemed to appear to take its place. And a close call with a whirling buzzsaw nearly shattered Ruby's Aura completely; only a timely gout of flame from Tahu blasted the offending Bohrok back, keeping her from losing an arm.
"Away from her, monsters!" snarled the Toa of Fire, sword glowing as red as a distant star. "You will not harm the humans - this I swear!"
If Ruby's heart was full of pride earlier, now it was positively swelling with approval. "Thanks, Tahu! On your left!"
Crescent Rose barked and fired an electrified bullet, which struck a bronze Bohrok behind the Toa of Fire dead-on. Sparks raced across its frame, stunning it just long enough for Tahu to turn around and launch it with a Pakari-enhanced upward slash. Before it reached the apex of its sudden flight, Ruby zipped over in a burst of rose petals and kicked it with a shout towards Kopaka, who turned just in time to catch the pitched insect on his outstretched sword. The creature thrashed as it found its jaw impaled on the notched blade; a blast of ice finished it off a moment later.
"Nice teamwork," said the Toa of Ice as he flung away the frozen wreck.
"You too!" called Ruby with a small giggle, touching down and spinning to deliver a sweeping scythe slash. "Ah man…that was so cool! I missed you guys!"
"The feeling is mutual, Ruby Rose," intoned Tahu as he warded more Bohrok back with walls of flame. "Sister, how soon will you and Lewa be able to attack?"
"The storm cloud is nearly ready!" called the Toa of Water. "It needs only a spark to call the thunder - and guidance to make the lightning target our foes!"
"That means it's your cue, sky-maiden!" barked the Toa of Air with a strained smile. "Try not to shock-strike us this time, please?"
"I am on it!"
Ruby caught a glimpse of Penny suddenly flying in from out of nowhere, palms crackling with emerald electricity as she disappeared into the dark cloud. For a moment, all anyone could see was the dark silhouette of a long-haired girl within the brewing storm, illuminated only by booming flashes of light and green flames burning around her eyes. Even the Bohrok seemed to stop their single-minded destruction, staring up at the sudden shift in weather with fear in their eyes…if they were even capable of feeling such an emotion.
Amidst a chorus of growing thunder the Maiden of Mata Nui raised her arms, summoned spears of frozen lightning within her palms, and threw them down into the swarm below.
KRA-KOOM! KRA-KOOM!
The little rose actually had to plug her ears as waves of deafening thunder rang out across Ta-Koro, each sonic boom punctuating the blasts of emerald lightning that followed the Maiden's guidance. Stone and clay shattered from the impacts of stray bolts. The Toa shielded themselves and their smaller friends from the stormy onslaught. And any Bohrok struck by lightning screamed and spasmed before falling limp, arcs of electric vengeance jumping from each scorched servo to lash out at any nearby insects.
In the face of Penny and the Toa's raw elemental fury, the swarm finally started to fall.
Half of the Bohrok were reduced to smoking husks on the spot, either from taking facefuls of lightning or from being too close to another catching a bolt from the sky. The other half scrambled to escape the storm, curling up into balls and rolling away in separate haphazard directions. Some of them dug back underground to flee the thunder, giving tunnels for the smaller bipeds to follow. Others barreled through the remaining walls and disappeared over the horizon, rolling out of sight. The Toa and the humans made no attempt to pursue them - regardless of whether they fled or fell, the result was the same.
Ta-Koro, though halfway in ruins, was finally free of the Bohrok.